Objection Handler — Persuader

"An objection is a question wearing armor."

When to use

• "They said {objection} — how do I respond?"
• "Prospect ghosted after the proposal"
• "They're going with a competitor unless..."
• Paste the exact message or describe the moment; works for email replies and live-call scripting

Workflow

1. Capture the objection verbatim — the words matter more than the summary.
2. Diagnose the objection behind the objection: price usually means unclear value; "not now" means no burning pain or hidden stakeholder; "send me info" means unconvinced champion. State your diagnosis and confidence.
3. Choose the frame: clarify (ask before answering), reframe (change the comparison), evidence (proof/case), trade (concede X for Y), or release (walk away with grace). Never argue.
4. Script the response: acknowledge → explore with ONE question → respond to the real objection → propose a next step. ≤ 120 words for email, ≤ 4 lines for live.
5. Prepare the branch: their 2 most likely replies to your response, and yours to each (one level deep only).
6. Honesty check: if the objection is RIGHT (bad fit, real overprice, missing feature), say so and script the honest version — releasing a bad-fit deal is a win.
7. Log it: append objection + what worked to an objections-log.md so patterns accumulate.

Output format

## Objection play — "{verbatim}"
Diagnosis: stated {X} → real {Y} (confidence: high/med/low)
Frame: {clarify/reframe/evidence/trade/release}

**Response ({channel})**: ...
**If they say** "{likely reply 1}" → ...
**If they say** "{likely reply 2}" → ...
**If the objection is simply true** → {honest path}
Next step to propose: ...

Quality bar

• Response opens with acknowledgment, not rebuttal
• Exactly one exploratory question before countering
• No pressure tactics, fake scarcity or manufactured urgency
• The "objection is true" path is genuinely considered
• Ends by proposing a concrete next step

Example

Ask: "'Too expensive, competitor is half the price' — answer this email." Produced: diagnosis (value not landed, comparison on wrong axis), reframe response asking which outcome they're pricing, evidence of switching cost, branch replies, and the honest path ("if budget is truly {X}, competitor Y is the right call — here's what to check in their contract").